Peter Schilling

Hot off the wire! David Thomson, one of my favorite film critics, writes in the British broadsheet The Independent of a new film on the life of Truman Capote, called Infamous. This one is based on George Plimpton’s Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career. Unlike Capote, Infamous … Read more

Scoop and Miami Vice Scoop, 2006. Written and directed by Woody Allen. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Allen, Hugh Jackman, and Ian McShane. Now showing in theaters around town. Used to be that you could spot a Woody Allen fan wherever they could be found sulking. Nebbishes to an extreme, they often were seen in oversized corduroy … Read more

The Conversation, 1974. Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Gene Hackman, Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall, Cindy Williams, Michael Higgins, and some of the finest character actors of the 70s: John Cazale, Frederick Forrest, Teri Garr, and Allen Garfield. Shows Wednesday night, July 26, at 9:00pm and Sunday, August 6 at 5:00pm on Turner … Read more

The Lady Eve, 1941. Written and directed by lipstick-magnate Preston Sturges. Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Hank Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette and Sturges stalwarts William Demarest, Eric Blore and Robert Greig. Playing in Loring Park with Fat Kid Wednesdays; part of the Walker’s Summer Music and Movies. Briefly: tonight, the Walker Art Center is bestowing us … Read more

There are no movie theaters in Saudi Arabia. Considering that there is no booze in the Kingdom of Saud, that there are no nightclubs, that 114 degree temperatures make sports all but impossible, and the shabobs (Arabic for young men) have to resort to driving like maniacs in order to let off steam, one would … Read more

Sullivan’s Travels, 1941. Directed and written by the inimitable Preston Sturges. Starring Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake (who’s on the take), the great curmudgeon William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Robert Greig, Eric Blore, Porter Hall, Charles R. Moore, and Jimmy Conlin. Playing in Loring Park with Sengalese band Daara J; part of the Walker’s Summer Music and … Read more

A Scanner Darkly, 2006. Directed and written by Richard Linklater. Starring Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Rory Cochrane and Winona Ryder. From the files of street critic Guy Fresno: It all happened so God damn long ago. Wandering through the streets of Lansing, looking for something fun, something to score other than coke, … Read more

Road To Guantanamo, 2006. Directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross. Starring Riz Ahmed, Farhad Harun, Waqar Siddiqui, Afran Usman, Shahid Iqbal, and the actual Tipton Three, who give us their story in interviews: Ruhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal, and Shafiq Rasul. Since June 29, my wife and I have been enjoying a visit with friends … Read more

Superman Returns, 2006. Directed by Bryan Singer, written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Starring a cast of undead that includes Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, the usually inspired Kevin Spacey, Frank Langella, James Marsden, Parker Posey, Sam Huntington, and, briefly, Eva Marie Saint and the disembodied voice of Marlon Brando. What a movie this new … Read more